NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS – McNeese baseball split Saturday's doubleheader at Stephen F. Austin, taking game one 6-1 before falling 7-4 in game two.
With the split, the Cowboys move to 24-23 overall
(12-14 Southland Conference), while the Lumberjacks sit at 25-23 overall (13-13 SLC). The rubber match is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. and will stream live on ESPN+.
GAME 1 | McNeese 6, SFA 1
McNeese rode a dominant outing from
Eric Nachtsheim, who earned his sixth win of the season after tossing eight scoreless innings while allowing just four hits and striking out nine.
With the performance, Nachtsheim increased his season strikeout total to 105, moving into a tie for fifth-most in a single season in program history.
Offensively,
Marcus Heusohn led the way, going 3-for-4 and finishing a triple shy of the cycle.
The game remained scoreless until the fifth inning when Heusohn launched his first home run of the season to right field to give McNeese a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning,
Korey Cooper added a two-run homer to extend the advantage to 3-0.
McNeese continued to build its lead in the sixth as Heusohn delivered an RBI single, and
Danny Barbero followed with a two-run home run to push the lead to 6-0.
Stephen F. Austin broke through in the ninth with an RBI single by Mark Henning, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Cowboys' lead.
SFA starter Gabriel LeBlanc took the loss after allowing three runs on six hits over five innings.
GAME 2 | SFA 7, McNeese 4
McNeese struck first in game two as
Matt Stancliff scored to give the Cowboys a 1-0 lead, but Stephen F. Austin quickly answered with a solo home run from Cermoderick Bland to tie the game.
The Lumberjacks took control in the second inning, scoring three runs behind RBI hits from Cooper Schneider and Bland to build a 4-1 lead.
SFA added to its advantage in the third on a solo home run by Josh Ibe and made it 6-1 in the fourth on a fielder's choice by Juan Cantua.
Ibe added his second home run of the game in the seventh to extend the lead to 7-1.
McNeese mounted a late rally in the ninth, scoring three runs on a sacrifice fly by Heusohn and a two-RBI single from
Easton Dowell, but the comeback fell short.
SFA starter Cody Templeton earned the win, improving to 5-1 after allowing one run on three hits over seven innings while striking out eight.
McNeese starter
Cooper Golden took the loss after allowing five runs on six hits over 2.2 innings.
Up Next
May 3 – at SFA
May 7 – vs Northwestern State
May 8 – vs Northwestern State
May 9 – vs Northwestern State
Denotes Conference Game
Indicates Home Game
